Posts from Faucets & Fixtures

Back in January, I told you how I'd committed to using a shower filter to reduce chemicals in my water and help my hair and skin look and feel better. Well, it's been seven months, and I'm ready to reveal my results. Want to know the verdict?

A decidedly cool and shimmery, unmistakably glam palette defines House Beautiful's 2012 Kitchen of the Year. With a shiny mix of polished chrome, pearlized subway tile and an ultra-high gloss countertop in the butlers pantry, this is the antithesis of the warm and cuddly country kitchen, but is absolutely inviting in it's own fashionable way.

When you think of German design, you probably think of BMW or Mercedes-Benz. Not bathrooms. But a recent trip to a bath showroom in Germany proved to me that German designers are just as successful at applying ingenuity in this arena as they are with the well known cars. Minimal, high-tech design looks great in the bathroom, where less really is more.

When I search for "traditional" bathroom styles, a plethora of images pops up that looks nothing like the kinds of classic bathrooms found in historic American homes. Somehow, traditional has become less about classical style and more about ornate flourishes, dark wood, and heavy, overlapping patterns and textures.

Pedestal sinks are timeless, classic and free up a lot of space in a bathroom. The problem with them, however, is that they provide very little counter space and absolutely no storage. For those of us who want the look of a pedestal sink but need more surface area, a console sink or washstand — paired with a separate piece of storage furniture — provides just the right solution.

Transcending time and space. Gorgeous and only minimally functional. Dark and dramatic. These are only a few of the requirements that I would want in my dream bathroom. Who cares about function when a moody personal retreat is only a few impractical yet stunning bathroom accents away?

This month we have been focusing on bathrooms, what we like, what we don't and what is new in the world of bathroom decor and design. In the process we have also shared items that would make the bathroom of our dreams. In my view, having a bathroom as near to resembling a spa as possible would be my ideal design. That is why this unique shower space is my selection my most extravagant bathroom fantasy.

Some may think the shower's basic design can't be improved upon. There are at least two companies that disagree, marketing extreme conceptual showers that challenge the way we bathe. Would you try them out? See more about the Loop and the Horizontal after the jump.